This invention relates generally to undertaking, and more particularly to apparatus for and method of displaying human remains for viewing purposes, for example at a memorial service or the like, and subsequently transporting those remains to a final destination for ultimate disposition, for example to a crematory for cremation.
Traditionally, the body of a deceased has been presented in a casket selected by surviving members of the deceased""s family for display of the body for viewing by mourners at a funeral or other memorial service. Subsequently, if in-ground burial was chosen by the surviving family members, the body would be buried in the selected casket.
Some find it distressing or otherwise objectionable to view their deceased loved one in a casket at the funeral or other memorial service. One attempt to remedy this problem is disclosed in Tanner U.S. Pat. No. 2,050,675. In Tanner there is disclosed a casket which converts from a casket to a couch or sofa and back again to a casket. To convert the casket to a couch, the casket lid is removed and a couch back and couch arms are removably mounted to the back and end edges of the casket shell. An upper portion of the casket shell front wall pivots downwardly and upholstery overlays and hides the downwardly pivoted portion. Pillows are added to the xe2x80x9ccouchxe2x80x9d to enhance its couch-like appearance. A body may then be displayed on this xe2x80x9ccouchxe2x80x9d providing a more natural, serene and less distressing appearance than that achievable when displaying the body in a casket. After viewing and prior to burial, the couch arms and back are removed from the casket shell (for subsequent reuse), the forward shell portion is pivoted upwardly and the lid is replaced to return the casket to its original configuration for burial purposes.
Other more conventional supports or furniture items, in addition to couches or sofas, which have heretofore been utilized to display bodies supported thereby for viewing thereof include beds and day beds, a day bed being a structure which includes a conventional bed mattress supported on a frame having a couch-like xe2x80x9cbackxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9carmsxe2x80x9d. When xe2x80x9cmade upxe2x80x9d a day bed appears much like a couch and is usable as such, but when xe2x80x9cturned downxe2x80x9d at night is utilizable as a bed. The couch xe2x80x9cbackxe2x80x9d may be designed to resemble a bed headboard.
Cremation is a growing segment of the undertaking industry. While initially such services as embalming and funeral or memorial services were likely not desired by the surviving family members of the deceased when cremation was chosen as the method of ultimate disposition of the remains of the deceased (known as xe2x80x9cdirect cremationxe2x80x9d), a growing portion of cremation customers are requesting of funeral directors and funeral homes that such traditional services be provided in addition to the service of cremation.
Cremation presents its own peculiar problems associated with dignified handling of the body up to and including the time the body is cremated. A cremation casket, generally a traditional appearing wooden casket with little or no metal used in its construction, and including the traditional casket interior trimmings, is one alternative for dignified handling of the body and display of the body if embalming and funeral or memorial services are requested. Such cremation caskets can be relatively expensive, however, and some object to burning such a casket with the body during cremation. Some of the cost can be eliminated by substituting less expensive materials, such as fiberboard (sometimes known as xe2x80x9chardboardxe2x80x9d), for the more costly wood, though, as can be expected, there will be a consequent reduction in the aesthetics of the appearance of the product, which can be proportionate to the cost savings.
Another cremation alternative is a so-called cremation container, generally fabricated of cardboard and including no decorative interior. Such containers are much less expensive than cremation caskets and as such it is generally not objectionable to burn the container during cremation of the body. However, as can be expected, such containers are not particularly suited for display of a body for viewing or for a funeral or other memorial service do to their inexpensive construction and consequent sparse appearance.
One proposed solution to the problem of providing an attractive casket for viewing purposes without requiring a customer to purchase the casket and burn it during cremation is the so-called rental casket. Such caskets are generally fabricated of the same quality of materials and workmanship as traditional burial caskets, but may include certain specialized features such as a pivoting shell end wall which allows a body, contained in a cardboard box for instance, to be slid into and out of the casket from the end. In this way, a customer need only rent the use of the attractive, traditional casket for the viewing or the funeral service while purchasing only the cardboard box for handling and transportation of the body to the crematory. One example of such a casket is disclosed in Kirby U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,189.
A similar proposed solution is the use of a permanent casket xe2x80x9cfacadexe2x80x9d which is removably placed over a disposable bottom container which includes bedding therein. The facade, placed over the container bottom, gives the appearance of a conventional casket. When the deceased is to be cremated, the facade is removed and the container bottom and the bedding within it, together with the deceased are covered with a cover member and sent to the crematory. The removable casket shell is thus not destroyed and can be reused during another funeral ceremony. Examples of such are disclosed in Havey, III U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,063,337 and 4,176,431.
However, these proposed solutions, while eliminating the necessity of burning a relatively expensive casket during the cremation, nonetheless suffer from the disadvantage mentioned above associated with the display of a body in any casket, namely, that many find the display of a deceased loved one in a casket especially distressing in their time of grief.
It is therefore a main objective of the present invention to provide apparatus for and method of displaying human remains for viewing purposes and for transporting the remains to a final destination for ultimate disposition, yet which do not result in the destruction of a relatively expensive casket, by way of either in-ground burial or cremation, and which do not compound the distress experienced by grieving loved ones by having to view the loved ones"" deceased being displayed in a traditional casket.
In accordance with the stated objective, the present invention provides both apparatus for and method of displaying human remains for viewing purposes and for transporting the remains to a final destination for ultimate disposition, yet which do not suffer from the many disadvantages of the prior art products and techniques. The apparatus of the present invention comprises a support structure configured into the appearance of a day bed and adapted to support and display the body of a deceased. A body supporting and transporting tray is removably positioned atop the support structure. The tray supports a body thereon when positioned atop the support structure and, when removed from the support structure, transports the body to a final destination for ultimate disposition.
The body supporting tray of the present invention comprises a bottom, a pair of opposed sides connected to the bottom and a pair of opposed ends connected to the bottom and to the pair of sides. Each end of the pair of ends includes a pair of elongated horizontal slots therein serving as handholds for grasping and lifting the tray.
The support structure preferably includes a back with an upper edge having a decorative profile. At least one of the tray sides includes an upper edge which has a decorative profile which complements the decorative profile of the upper edge of the back. The support structure is preferably open and unobstructed along a forward edge such that the tray side upper edge decorative profile is visible from the front of the support structure when the tray is positioned atop the support structure.
When cremation is chosen as the means of ultimate disposition of the remains, the tray is fabricated of a combustible material such that the tray may be cremated along with the body.
The support structure may be preferably constructed of decorative wood normally associated with fine furniture, such as cherry. The tray may be preferably fabricated of a lesser expensive wood, such as poplar or maple, but which can be finished to closely match the cherry wood of the support structure.
A mattress is provided for placement into the bottom of the tray. While most any type of decorative bedding can be used atop the mattress to display a body supported on the tray and the support structure, one particular type of bedding which is most attractive on the tray and support structure is a quilt. A matching pillow covered with the same type of fabric as makes up the quilt is also preferably provided to complete the display.
In a preferred form, the day bed configured support structure comprises a rectangular, planar platform having opposed front and rear edges and opposed end edges. Legs are connected to the platform and extend downwardly from the platform to support the platform above a floor surface. A back is connected to the rear edge of the platform along a lower edge of the back, the back projecting upwardly from the platform. A side is connected to each end edge of the platform and to a respective side edge of the back, with each side projecting upwardly from the platform. A cover plate is preferably included at either end of the support structure and is removably placed atop the legs. The cover plates, when removed, permit easier placement of the tray onto the support structure and removal of the tray from the support structure. When installed, the cover plates provide a smooth, clean, finished appearance of the support structure with tray thereon.
The support structure and tray are preferably constructed so as to position a deceased approximately 30 inches above a supporting floor surface. The support structure is preferably approximately 94 inches long and approximately 30 inches wide. The tray is preferably approximately 83 inches long and approximately 28 inches wide.
In its broadest aspect, the method of the present comprises the steps of providing a support structure configured into the appearance of a day bed and adapted to support and display the body of a deceased, providing a body supporting and transporting tray, positioning a body on the tray, removably positioning the tray on the support structure, displaying the body on the tray and support structure to those wishing to view the body and subsequently transporting the body on the tray to a final destination for ultimate disposition thereof. It is contemplated that the final destination of the body and tray is a crematory and that the ultimate disposition of the body and the tray is by cremation in the preferred form of carrying out the method of the present invention. The method may further comprise the steps of providing a table top structure, positioning the table top structure on the support structure and displaying an urn containing the cremated remains of the body therein on the table top structure.
In another aspect of the present invention, apparatus for displaying human remains for viewing purposes and for transporting the remains to a final destination for ultimate disposition, which apparatus is convertible into a memorial table, is provided. The apparatus comprises a support structure configured into the appearance of a day bed and adapted to support and display the body of a deceased. A body supporting and transporting tray is adapted to be removably positioned atop the support structure. A table top structure is also adapted to be removably positioned atop the support structure in the absence of the tray. The table top structure is for supporting and displaying an urn containing cremated remains, pictures, flowers, mementos and the like. The support structure is thus usable serially as a body supporting daybed-like rest bed and as a memorial table.
The present invention has numerous advantages. A technique of displaying a body for viewing and funeral or other memorial type service is provided which does not require the body to be displayed in a traditional casket, which compounds the grief of loved ones. The body is presented in a much more natural and serene manner. The support structure provided by the present invention appears to be an attractively designed day bed. The tray of the present invention which cooperates with the support structure is designed to complement the day bed configured support structure. A quilt is provided for covering the body on the tray and support structure, which complements the finished wood of the support structure and tray. The appearance of the deceased on the apparatus of the present invention engenders a memorial image of the deceased resting peacefully on an attractive piece of furniturexe2x80x94a day bed.
The tray may then readily be used to transport the deceased to a crematory. The tray may itself be cremated along with the body without a great investment loss since it can be economically manufactured. The support structure may then be reused. Customers are not required to purchase a relatively expensive casket to obtain an elegant look for viewing and the funeral or to destroy such a casket in a crematory; customers need only rent the use of the support structure which is less expensive than a relatively expensive casket.
The support structure is also readily converted into a memorial table by substituting the table top for the tray. The memorial table may be used subsequently to the tray and may display an urn containing the cremated remains of the deceased therein as a focal point of a memorial service or other ceremony. Or the memorial table may be used to display simply pictures, flowers and other mementos and the like of the deceased, and is thus usable whether cremation or conventional in-ground or above-ground burial is chosen. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent during the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings herein, in which: